Thursday, January 7, 2016

Gary Johnson announces 2nd presidential bid (video)

January 6, 2015 - "Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson has joined the crowded 2016 presidential race.... ''I am announcing my candidacy right now for the Libertarian nomination,' Johnson said on Fox Business’ Coast to Coast with Neil Cavuto on Wednesday. 'I do believe that crony capitalism is alive and well. It’s Democrats and Republicans that contribute to that. I’d like to be that choice that is not going to succumb to that.'

"Johnson — a self-made millionaire — also ran in 2012 as a member of the Libertarian Party, which advocates for a radically smaller and less powerful federal government.

"In an interview with POLITICO, Johnson vowed to run a completely different campaign than he did in 2012, when he received just 1,275,971 votes, or 0.99 percent of the total electorate. In 2012, he launched his campaign with a splashy event that he said cost thousands; this time, he did it for free on Fox Business, he noted.

"'My voice has not been heard, and speaking with a broad brush stroke, that is someone who is fiscally conservative and socially liberal,' Johnson said.... Libertarians draw as many Democratic votes as they do Republicans, Johnson said, arguing that he could appeal to voters dissatisfied with their options.

"'I’m not saying any of this is gonna transpire, but it just seems to me if Hillary is the nominee (which she is going to be) and if Trump is the nominee (and that appears to be the case), I think you can see a lot of attention to, "Is this all the choices that we have?"' he told POLITICO.

"Johnson resigned from his position as director and CEO of Cannabis Sativa, Inc, a marijuana marketing and packaging company, earlier this week, according to Reason.

"In 2012, the former New Mexico governor was polling between 7 and 13 percent in some key Western states with libertarian-leaning populations.... But in the end, the margins of victory for Mitt Romney (in Arizona) and Barack Obama (in Colorado and New Mexico) were too large for Johnson's support to matter."